


in the dark I can hear your heartbeat

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Demon Summoning, M/M, Warlocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28186365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: Tony is determined to summon a powerful patron and become a proper warlock. Unfortunately for him, something keeps stopping him.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 2
Kudos: 61





	in the dark I can hear your heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/633926369339899904) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Four: Angels & Demons AU. A very loose interpretation of both the prompt and D&D lore!
> 
> Title from "Cosmic Love" by Florence and The Machine.

A warlock’s quest for knowledge is never-ending. Dangerous, yet thrilling. An adventure down a dark and twisty path with no way of knowing where you’ll end up. Granted, Tony isn’t exactly a warlock yet, but he’s working diligently on that part. Once he finishes preparations for his summoning circle, he’ll have a powerful entity as his patron and the ability to learn even more about the mysteries of the universe.

Tonight is the night. It’s a full moon. The circle is set. Tony has one of his ancient spell books open in front of him, the specific passage marked. Tonight he’ll call forth an otherworldly being that will bestow such power to him he likes he’s never had before.

He goes through the steps of the ritual, one by one until the final line of the incantation is spoken aloud. The candles in the room flicker and dim, a sudden chill in the air, and Tony holds his breath in anticipation as…

Nothing happens.

Frowning, he looks back down at his book and flips to the next page to see if he’d missed something, then flips back. All the steps of the ritual are accounted for. Surely _some_ kind of demon or eldritch abomination or...minor fiend would have taken the bait at least.

Tony swears under his breath and angrily flicks a black rose petal off his spell book.

“Language,” a deep voice from within the summoning circle says, startling Tony so much he knocks over a bowl of sage, which scatters over the floor.

“It worked,” Tony gasps, looking up from where he’s kneeling on the floor in front of the circle, but he can’t see anything at all in the shadows within. “My name is Anthony, and--”

“I know who you are,” the voice replies. “I know what you’re looking for. I’m here to tell you to stop being so foolish.”

That’s not what Tony had expected at all and he blinks in surprise. “Stop? I’m not going to stop. The answers to everything I’ve ever wondered about are right in front of me.”

The invisible being sighs deeply, and Tony doesn’t think he’s ever heard a demon sigh before. “Be that as it may, the price for such knowledge is too steep. You won’t find any pacts to make here tonight.”

Tony gets to his feet, scowling at this mystery figure. “If you won’t make a pact with me, leave so someone else can!”

“It is too late,” the voice says solemnly. “Give up this foolish endeavour.”

All at once the flames on his candles flicker back to life, but they reveal nothing within the circle. The voice does not speak again, but it had been telling the truth. The time for the ritual had passed.

But Tony isn’t about to give up after one failed experiment. He gathers a new set of supplies and waits until the next full moon, this time putting up extra wards so that whatever pesky demon that ruined his last summoning wouldn’t be able to return. This time when the candles dim and the lights fade, Tony doesn’t waste any time, standing up with his book open to the binding incantation as he starts to recite it.

“You can stop that now,” says the same voice from last time, and Tony swears and slams his book closed. At least this time the voice doesn’t tell him off for swearing.

“Why are you here if you don’t want to be my patron?” Tony asks, frustrated. “Do you have fun ruining my night?”

“I promise I’m not doing this for fun,” the voice replies, and if Tony didn’t know any better he’d say this demon actually sounded tired. “But you did not heed my warning.”

“Right, sorry. I’ll listen now!” Tony says sarcastically, but the voice does not respond.

So that’s another full moon wasted, but Tony is nothing if not stupidly persistent. Yet full moon after full moon, the same mysterious being appears within his summoning circle, staying only long enough to block any legitimate patrons from coming through. After the fifth or sixth time this happens despite Tony’s attempts to prevent it, Tony has had enough.

He spends long hours into the night reading and researching and practicing his spells and incantations. If this seemingly powerful being doesn’t want him to make any pacts with other patrons, he’ll prove to his bothersome guest that he’s worth making a pact with.

This time when the mysterious voice appears to block his summoning, Tony acts quickly, casting a revealing spell instead of trying to trap or banish the creature. For a moment nothing happens, then a sudden, blooming burst of light physically knocks Tony off his feet.

Landing squarely on his ass, Tony grunts and squints up at the light, trying to see what caused it. Standing in the remains of his summoning circle is the most ethereal being Tony has ever seen in his life, eyes so blue they hold literal skies within them, golden hair blowing in a wind that doesn’t exist on Tony’s plane of existence.

This time it’s the being that swears, in the same voice that Tony’s heard again and again over the past several full moons.

“You’re no demon,” Tony says accusingly.

“And you are not meant to be a warlock, Anthony Stark,” the ethereal being says, his voice clearer and more heavenly than before. It nearly makes Tony want to weep. “You are too important to be bound to some demon who would use you as its pawn.”

Tony picks himself up from the floor, shaking dust from his cloak.

“You could have said that at the beginning, you know.” He feels like he should be afraid of this--man?--but after spending months cursing the guy as some irritating lesser demon, he feels less like a cowering mortal and more like a ticked off neighbor.

Tony licks his lips, looking up at the too beautiful man, not one to back down just because he’s one sentence away from a huge mistake at all times.

“You’re clearly powerful. Something divine, right? And you want me on the path of righteousness and all that?”

Slowly, the being nods.

“So be my patron. I’ll work my magic how you see fit. I just want to know.”

“Know what?” the being asks, a low rumble that sounds like thunder in the back of Tony’s head.

“Everything.”

The unearthly man studies him, his gaze a physical weight on Tony’s shoulders, but Tony doesn’t buckle. Then he holds out his hand to Tony, sparks of lightning dancing across his skin.

Tony reaches out and takes it.


End file.
